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maltatoday, Wednesday, 15 OctOber 2014 17 Events IFG Conference in Malta The International Factors Group (IFG) (right) recently held its 52nd Annual Meet- ing in Malta. IFG Chairman Margrith Lut- schg-emmenegger, who is also President of Malta-based FIMBank, explained, "The IFG Annual Meeting is the leading global confer- ence for factoring, receivables financing and asset-based finance, and is regarded by the market as an annual highlight." The opening speech was delivered by Min- ister for Finance Prof. edward Scicluna. Minister Scicluna who welcomed the dele- gates to Malta and thanked the IFG, and par- ticularly its Chairman, for choosing Malta as the venue for its annual meeting, adding that such events contributed to further enhance Malta's image as a reputable jurisdiction in the financial services sector. erik Timmermans, Secretary General of IFG, stated, "The IFG Annual Meeting which was just held in Malta was a great success, offering the opportunity for decision makers in this industry to learn, network and de- velop new business relationships. Over 150 delegates had the opportunity to discover the beauty and rich history of the Maltese islands and go back home with a memorable experience". For further information about the IFG Group please visit www.ifgroup.com FCM Bank launches online banking services FCM Bank has launched its new online banking, providing custom- ers with a fast, simple and straight- forward system to review and man- age their accounts at the click of a button. This platform has been custom- ised for FCM and will be available to all customers of the bank. "We believe this to be the next step in our evolutional growth," explains Mr Vincent Ma, Chief Operating Officer of FCM Bank. "24-7 online banking has been developed to help make our customers' lives much eas- ier and allow them to manage their accounts anytime and anywhere." FCM Bank's new service will en- able customers to view and monitor their savings accounts online, and will give them the ability to trans- fer funds to their linked bank ac- count. The website will also provide a direct communication channel so that customers may send secure and convenient messages straight to the Bank. "Throughout the development of this portal we put our customers' experiences first and created a fa- cility that will really be of benefit to them," continues Mr Ma. "We have thoroughly planned and tested the system over several months to en- sure that it is safe, efficient, user- friendly and as straight-forward as possible. "At FCM Bank we are continuous- ly improving the bank's services and technologies to help our customers save more and improve their expe- rience. This is only the start of our technology programme, and there is much more to come." he concludes. For further information, do not hesitate to contact FCM Bank on Freephone 8007 3737 or visit our website fcmbank.com.mt POkerSTArS has announced that the european Poker Tour (ePT) will make its first visit to Malta from 18 to 28 March, as part of the Sea- son 11 schedule. Joining forces with the regional Italian Poker Tour (IPT), the 11-day ePT Malta poker festival will take place in the Portomaso Casino and will feature 40-45 events, including the €5,300 ePT Main event and the €1,100 IPT Main event. A wide variety of ePT- run cash games will also be offered through- out the tournament including No- Limit hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha and Open Face Chinese Poker. This stop will be the ePT's 22nd different destination since the tour began in 2004. edgar Stuchly, ePT President said, "After discussions with players and fellow colleagues, we decided it was time to add a fresh and exciting stop to the ePT schedule. Malta is a great destination for an ePT and we ex- pect strong participation numbers." Malta is already home to hundreds of poker players that have relocated to the island in recent years and it is where PokerStars.eu is located. The venue has hosted numerous major events, including three Ital- ian Poker Tour stops and the Poker- Stars-sponsored Swedish and Finn- ish championships. Michael holmberg, PokerStars General Manager in Malta, added, "Malta is where PokerStars.eu is based, so we are very happy to bring the ePT home to what is the perfect combination of a 24/7 poker offer- ing, as well as the chance to escape the grind and discover everything that Malta has to offer." eros Ganzina, General Manager of Portomaso Casino, said, "Malta is renowned as being a very popu- lar poker destination and in the last five years Portomaso Casino has proved to be more than capable of hosting large-scale events. The ePT is a landmark event for us and we are looking forward to hosting such a prestigious tournament. We are positive that poker players will enjoy the new destination." The 14th edition of the GPI eu- ropean Poker Awards will also take place during ePT Malta, on 25 March. Last year's awards ceremony took place during ePT Deauville with Ole Schemion from Germany crowned european Player of the Year. Alex Dreyfus, CeO of the Global Poker Index, commented, "Malta has been the hub for online gaming and poker for the last ten years. ePT Malta is a great platform to organ- ise the GPI european Poker Awards and to make it really successful by connecting players and industry stakeholders in such a great place." ePT Malta satellites will run daily on PokerStars from as little as €1.10 or 50 FPP (Frequent Player Points). For more info, go to: http://www. eu ropea npoker tou r.com/tou rna- ments/malta. European Poker Tour to hold festival in Malta FIMBANk, the Malta-based trade finance specialist, has announced its acquisition of a controlling inter- est in an established Chilean factor- ing house, First Factors Servicios Financieros, thereby expanding its footprint in South America. First Factors, which specializes in re- course and non-recourse factoring, as well as financial leasing, provides its services through six branches throughout the country, branches which are located close to the for- estry, mining and fishing indus- tries. The company, which was es- tablished in 2005, currently has 73 employees. Commenting on FIMBank's latest venture, Group President Margrith Lütschg emmenegger stated that the intention behind FIMBank's ac- quisition of 51% of the participating interests in First Factors was part of the FIMBank Group's strategy to develop further its international network and to "further extend our factoring franchise in South Amer- ica". The FIMBank Group currently provides factoring services in this continent's largest economy, Bra- zil, through its joint venture com- pany BrasilFactors S.A. Lütschg emmenegger explained that the decision follows on FIMBank's stra- tegic decision to focus on a strong presence in Latin America "The dy- namic expansion of South–South trade in recent years created new trading opportunities in interre- gional trade particularly between the Americas and Africa. With our two JVs in Latin America we are better positioned to benefit from the increase in trade flows." First Factors CeO Carlos Baudrand stated that First Factors will be re- branded to LATAM Factors in the coming weeks: "This rebranding reflects the wider scope of the com- pany as a result of FIMBank's acqui- sition. With a strong institutional investor we can now beyond Chile's borders and actively seek factoring business, particularly in countries such as Peru, Colombia, ecuador and Mexico." For more information about the FIMBank Group please visit www.fimbank.com FIMBank acquires controlling stake in Chilean factoring house Marisa Stivala, winner of the Yoga Juice World Cup Fever Competition, being awarded €500 by Benji Gatt, Food and Beverages Manager, Vivian Corporation